let them come home

The war against the syndicates is over. Anyone who remains knows to keep their heads down and stay out of the way. Those who don't risk torture and death. Isaac grew up training to fight. He has spent the past six years of his life doing everything he can to strike back at the cruel syndicate families that destroyed his life. He and his friends have all been broken by the syndicates, one way or another. The group travels the country sabotaging the vicious Stormbecks, the syndicate that controls the region with an iron fist. When Sam, the group's youngest member, is kidnapped and tortured by the Stormbecks' son, Isaac would do anything to get them back. The ragtag family launches a mission to rescue Sam, and Isaac makes a choice that will shatter all their lives forever.

Explanation for why my name now matches one of my OCs

Honor Bound, Book 1: edited and published with 3 new chapters on Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and Amazon

Editor: @kys-chai-and-books

Honor Bound chapters here

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Honor Bound, Book 2: edited and published with 5 new chapters on Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and Amazon

Editor: @kys-chai-and-books

Honor Bound 2 chapters here

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Honor Bound, Book 3: edited and published with 2 new chapters on Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and Amazon

Editor: @kys-chai-and-books

Honor Bound 3 chapters here

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Honor Bound, Book 4: edited and published with 2 new chapters on Barnes and Noble, Bookshop, and Amazon

Editor: @kys-chai-and-books​

Honor Bound 4 chapters here

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Honor Bound, Book 5: edited and published with 4 new chapters on Barnes and Noble, Bookshop, and Amazon

Editor: @kys-chai-and-books​

Honor Bound 5 chapters here

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Honor Bound, Book 6: edited and published with 9 new chapters on Barnes and Noble, Bookshop, and Amazon 

Editor: @kys-chai-and-books​​

Honor Bound 6 chapters here

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Vera, an Honor Bound prequel and companion to books 2 and 3: edited and published with 3 new chapters on Barnes and Noble, Bookshop, and Amazon

Editor: @kys-chai-and-books​

Vera series chapters here

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AUs:

Vampire AU: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Gavin is raised by Gray

James rescues young Gavin

Magic AU to this chapter where Gavin is hanged

Sacrificial Ram

AU where Isaac and Gavin have a psychic link from childhood

AU where Gavin’s father possesses Isaac to punish Gavin

Isaac/Gavin/Vera/Tori foursome

Bad day part 1, part 2

Google link to AUs

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Other assorted pieces:

Honor Bound partially translated into Russian, by @milesstannum​

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Ash/Isaac Crossover AU(s)

Crossover AUs with @ashintheairlikesnow

Links to AUs here

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The Collection Box/Honor Bound Crossover AU

Crossover with @whump-it and her BBU AU The Collection Box

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

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Isaac/Raye Crossover AU

Crossover with @newbornwhumperfly​ and their Morja and Company story

AU chapters here

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Isaac’s AO3

Isaac’s Ko-fi

Review my books on Goodreads here

Isaac’s bookshop.org link (I am an affiliate and do get commission if you use this link)

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When the story begins in 2029...

11. anything from your childhood you’ve held on to?

Actually, something I'm working through in therapy is letting go of several boxes of stuff from my childhood, yeah. It's mostly junk. I'm pretty much trying to decide between whether I would like to be the type of person with lots of keepsakes I look back on fondly (unlikely, I don't have happy memories attached to them) or whether I would like to be someone kinda unmoored from my childhood, at least from the things I used to have (which feels kinda scary.)

15. rank the methods of death: freezing, burning, drowning

From best to worst: freezing, drowning, burning

27. what’s your favorite or go-to outfit?

3. a specific color that gives you the ick?

Mmm... maybe pink? Idk I don't really hate any colors

24. which do you find yourself using, american or british english?

I use american english :)

28. last meal on earth?

also hiii :3

Haaaaai :3

25. would you say you have good taste in music?

From this ask game!

5. favorite form of potato?

Ohhh. Pretty much anything people have done with sweet potatoes.

13. first thing you’re doing in the purge?

Barricading EVERYTHING. As long as it's safe, probably uh... acquiring some medical supplies. That shit is expensive and it would be nice to have enough supplies to have my own medic pack at home

26. how’s your spice tolerance?

i'm asking because of that post of yours about making your characters win, and i do wholeheartedly agree with it!!! the state of the world is... well, what it is, and we do not need more doomer narratives, especially for characters within groups which are already being oppressed in real life. i do believe in art inspiring hope, and i think writing narratives where queer, disabled, ill, immigrant, refugee etc. characters get their happy endings is important and amazing and a true act of kindness, in a way.

and i want to be like that. i want to be able to write stories like your Honor Bound series where people go through hell and back and still come out on the other side loved and safe, i think it's so lovely and so important. but i just don't feel like that? it hasn't been remotely close to my experience that that happens. i mean, that sort of love and everything. so i write, and i literally don't know how to give my characters a happy ending without it feeling disingenuous. i honestly end up killing most of them off or leaving them in a bigger rut than where the story started lol but that's not!! the narrative i want to give people!! i've tried to write the sort of stories i think we need and that i want to believe in, i try to write my characters finding love and family and peace, but it either 1) feels like i'm lying, or 2) makes me sadder.

i guess what i'm asking is just... do you have any experience with these conflicting feelings, wanting to believe in one thing but the world repeatedly proving otherwise? and do you have any tips on this, on knowing the world needs hope and kindness but just not feeling it, and that bleeding into your art? sorry if that's not making sense, i'm probably not wording any of this right. and i know this whole topic is very political obviously, and i guess i'm sort of struggling reconciling what i believe in and wish to preach and contribute to politically (the world is full of kindness and people are worth it and life is worth protecting) vs my subjective, personal experience (the opposite, pretty much).

your stories are so full of love, like, transformative love, and gentleness and care, and i truly mean this as a huge huge huge compliment!!! i totally get this is a weird ask, i don't mean to pry either, this was genuinely meant to be a commendation for your work but then i just started thinking lol so if nothing else, then please do take my compliments!!

and i believe it takes so much strength to continue choosing kindness the way you do, and to continue choosing to believe in love, and i believe you must be an extremely loving person to be able even to conceive of the level of love you write about yet alone write it, so, thank you for existing and sharing your stories and what you believe in, it does give me a glimmer of hope :)

Hey anon, I appreciate you sending me this ask. Anon is referring to this post where I say (in a little tongue-in-cheek manner, but I am quite serious) that if anything we should make our art even more political, and make our marginalized heroes win in our stories because I'm tired of the alternative.

That wasn't prescriptive, though, and I'm not saying that I've written the stories that I have because I feel any sort of moral directive to write them that way. I think if you make yourself write stories for any reason, even political ones, you risk awkward, stilted stories at best and burnout at worst. I write my stories that that because I'm writing wish fulfillment

I didn't write a team full of loving, supportive people in Honor Bound and end that series by having the family settle in a community of like-minded people where everyone contributes and no one takes more than they need because I think that's how the world really is, or because I think I have a responsibility to portray the world that way. To be honest, in my heart, I have a really hard time believing those things are real. But I don't write prescriptive fables or manifestos or lessons. I just wrote the sort of comforting love that I really, really wanted and needed and gave it to the characters I invented

In Gunmetal, I didn't write a group of queer rebels who are all able and willing to do what they can to push back against a fascistic regime and love each other while doing it because I think that's how people usually are, or because I think I have the responsibility to do that, either. I just really, really need to be seeing it right now

I didn't write all the love and devotion in these stories because I have a lot of experience with that, either. Kinda the opposite, actually. Most things I've tried to do to improve the world or fight the powers that be have failed, and most of the folks I've tried to stop have come away even more powerful and entrenched than before. I wasn't raised in love. I haven't found safety in most of the love I've found. I just... wrote what I needed, because I needed to see it somewhere

Like Celeste?? Absolutely BEAUTIFUL name and so fitting for her; and then Jake, for example, is obviously a more common, regular name, but it's also very fitting for the character (sounds very... down-to-earth, approachable). Marcus I love because it's such a Quintessential Masculine Name and it does derive from Mars, which is very fitting.

And the HB names! Isaac obviously as the OG whumpee. Vera Novak is a Slavic name and surname which I find interesting, definitely gave me pause as a Slav lol! Was that intentional? And I've never heard of Edrissa, I think only as a variation of the Arabic Idris? I literally remember looking up her name when she was introduced because it was so pretty and memorable, definitely fitting!

Anyway, feel free to completely ignore this if I'm, like, spouting nonsense 😭 But as someone who notices names, please take it as a compliment that your characters have sick ass names 😌🔥

Ahhh I love this question!!! Thank you for asking it!!!

Celeste I named because of a very specific video I saw on Instagram. It was of a band I didn't know performing in a really small venue like a bar. The lead singer went down to talk to this woman in the front row who was crying, and holding up the mic to let her talk. The woman was pretty obviously a big fan. She said she was trans, but didn't have a name picked out yet and was hoping the singer would pick one for her. The singer said "ok, well, I name you Celeste." The woman started crying and saying it was perfect. I cry every time I watch it. I just touched me so much. I imagine my Celeste going to a concert, maybe freshly out at the very beginning of her transition, and feeling the kinship of screaming along to woman-led rock band in a crowd full of other women

Jake and Marcus I named because those are two character names played by an actor I like aaaaah. But they really seemed to fit their two personalities, even that early on

Isaac was named that because, well, I've always loved the name and the Bible story that is attached to it. The ultimate doomed sacrifice whumpee. For Vera, I wanted a name that sounded strong and fierce, and Novak sounded really good with that name. I named Edrissa that because I was writing her while I was watching the TV show Prodigal Son, and there's a character from that show named Edrissa.

As for the others, I feel like Sam is the ultimate whumpee name. Gray just felt really good and calm for them

Haaaa I think he would love them!! And you're so right, he would be 100% locked in. Jake might try and flirt or something and Marcus wouldn't even blink

Oh, god... I don't think I'd ever be able to do that, anon. Don't get me wrong, it's a great idea, but I just don't think I could break my own heart like that. Poor Jake.